A contract is legally binding only if each party obtains something of value (referred to as “consideration”) in return for performance of the contract obligations. For this reason, releases traditionally stipulated payment of a nominal amount such as one dollar. However, most courts now take a modern approach to contract law and accept the fact that consideration can be implied and an actual payment is not mandatory. Each release in this chapter establishes that the contract has met the consideration requirement by beginning with the statement, “For consideration that I acknowledge…” However, to fortify this position, you may wish to make a payment -- even if nominal -- to the person signing the release and indicate the amount of the payment somewhere in the release.